Intel Hits CES Stage With Atom, Core Chips for Mobile Devices

Intel Booth

Intel's booth on the floor at CES was a massive structure of colorful lights and computing devices.

Intel came into the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas looking to make some noise in the much-coveted mobile device space. The giant chip maker dominates the PC and server markets, but is now trying to push its way into a mobile market dominated by chips designed by ARM and sold by partners such as Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics and Nvidia. At CES—where those ARM partners as well as x86 rival Advanced Micro Devices also made news—Intel showed off upcoming low-power Atom platforms and plans to make inroads into the value smartphone business in emerging markets. It also showed off more Atom systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) for tablets, new and forthcoming Core chips for tablets, and convertible systems that consume as little as 7 watts and fourth-generation Core processors—formerly dubbed "Haswell"—for Ultrabooks. The chips all promise greater performance and power efficiency, both critical factors in the smartphone and tablet markets. "The best of Intel is coming to a mobile device near you," said Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager of Intel's PC Client Group. During their press conference Jan. 7, Intel officials also demonstrated some upcoming capabilities tied to the company's Perceptual Computing initiative, designed to enable computers to more readily recognize faces and understand human gestures. (Photos courtesy of Intel)